Embracing educational disruption: a case study in making the shift to a remote learning environment

2.1 Moving into an online environment

Online education has been studied for decades. Numerous research studies have focused on online teaching and learning theories and evaluation criteria on quality online learning and online course design (Brown, 2016; Kebritchi et al., 2017; Rasheed et al., 2020). Nonetheless, despite the importance and the benefits reported on online learning, very few advancements have been made in that very few teachers receive systematic support or instruction on how to design high-quality, interactive online learning experiences (Archambault et al., 2016).

Literature on online education has revealed that effective online learning results from careful instructional design and planning, using a systematic model for design and development such as that shown in Figure 2. This design process of technology integration has to suit the education context as it has significant bearing on the quality of the instruction. In fact, Hodges et al. (2020) maintains that this careful design process that is time consuming, “will be absent in most cases in these emergency shifts” . Consequently, hastily moving teaching and learning to online platforms has shed light to the disproportionate access to technologies “necessary to be successful either as an online learner or as a teacher suddenly responsible for delivering content remotely” (Lynch, 2020, p. 189).

A survey by British Council as a global response to the change in English teaching and learning during COVID-19 disseminated from 9 April 2020 to 27 April 2020 on the “Support and Resources needed for teachers during COVD-19” revealed that online teaching has increased by 40% in the 11 countries. The teachers reported only moderate confidence in their online teaching, while teaching hours and preparation were reported to have increased. Approximately 77% spend 1–10 h, while 10% spend up to 15 h preparing online lessons (i.e. approximately 1:1 for teaching hour to preparation time). Challenges in remote teaching were attributed to various reasons including changing teaching style to suit online teaching (45%), Internet connection (46%), including all students in the lesson (53%) and unfamiliarity with teaching tools (32%). Additionally, the type of support reported by the teachers are mainly pedagogical in terms of seeking ways to increase student engagement during class hours, teaching methodology and designing materials for synchronous and asynchronous learning (British Council, 2020).

Online teaching would be a new experience for most teachers, requiring them to adjust not only their approaches but their perspectives. A study on the professional development needs of online teachers revealed the extent of support to include administrative, personnel, pedagogical and technology support (Martin et al., 2019). Thus, it is expected that for many teachers, the shift from face-to-face teaching to an online teaching environment can be unsettling and requires teachers to redefine unrealistic expectations (Gloria and Uttal, 2020). This is not surprising considering many teachers in Malaysia have not participated in any kind of learning experience, let alone teach online (see Cheok et al., 2017; Had and Ab Rashid, 2019). Nasri et al. (2020) in their study further highlight that lecturers in Malaysia have varying levels of ICT literacy thus requiring training and a support system to accommodate their needs.

2.2 Teachers and digital literacy

One of the challenges of transitioning to online teaching is low digital literacy. During the pandemic, understandably, many teachers were ill-equipped for the transition to online learning. Furthermore, due to low digital literacy, teachers may experience difficulties in operating the applications and navigating platforms used for online learning. Teacher preparation time for online or blended environment is significantly increased due to the complexity of online and remote teaching (Evagorou and Nisiforou, 2020).

The level of teachers' digital literacy, which significantly broadens the scope of potential sources of knowledge, can be derived from the aspect of the success of both their teaching and learning activities. Among the most important components of digital literacy are: “accessing, managing, evaluating, integrating, creating, and communicating information individually or collaboratively in a networked, computer supported, and web-based environment for learning, working, or leisure” (Barnová et al., 2020, p. 12). According to Hague and Payton (2010), digital literacy is made up of eight inter-related components or dimensions: functional skills, creativity, critical thinking and evaluation, cultural and social understanding, collaboration, the ability to find and select information, effective communication and e-safety. In the case of teachers, being digitally literate also means knowing when and why digital technologies are appropriate and helpful to the (educational) task at hand (Hague and Payton, 2010). This means that teachers should have the competence in determining when the application of digital technologies is purposeful, meaningful and efficient and situations, when it is not.(i.e. Asynchronous e-learning or synchronous learning) (Barnová et al., 2020, p. 14).Similarly, Baran and Correia (2014) maintain that in order to be effective online teachers, faculty must develop the know-how of online technologies. They further argue that it is critical for teachers to be given first-hand experience with both teaching and learning in online environments. In the case of this current educational disruption, many do not have that luxury, further compounding these challenges.

A study on the teaching challenges faced by Indonesian students during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that the teachers need practical preparation to recognize applications, organise activities, maintain students' engagement and evaluate students' learning (Atmojo and Nugroho, 2020). These challenges include but are not limited to creating content for online spaces, learning new delivery tools, understanding online pedagogy, engaging parents, addressing student mental health issues and attempting various pedagogical strategies to address both synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning (Hartshorne et al., 2020, p. 138). König et al. (2020) in their analysis of school teachers in Germany further emphasise that information and communication technologies (ICT) tools, and in particular digital teacher competence and teacher education opportunities are fundamentally important in adapting to online teaching during this pandemic.

2.3 Bridging the digital divide

The sudden shift to remote learning would also mean that teachers lack time for preparation and readiness for online learning. The absence of adequate facilities for high technology integration also poses another problem in bridging the digital divide when transitioning to online teaching. Challenges may include connecting appropriate pedagogies with technologies, designing interactive activities, improving formal learning and enhancing student engagement in online learning (Hartshorne et al., 2020). Compton (2009) proposed the following framework and categorised three major skills domain in OLT:

The first set, technological skills, relate to knowledge and ability to handle hardware and software issues. Next, the pedagogical skills refer to knowledge and ability to conduct and facilitate teaching and learning activities. Lastly, the evaluative skills refer to the analytical ability to assess the tasks and overall course and make necessary modifications to ensure language learning objectives are met” (Compton, 2009, p. 81)

In their study, Van Gorp et al. (2019) further organized each skill domain into four levels of expertise: limited, novice, proficient and expert. See Table 1 for description:

Baran et al. (2011) in their metaanalysis report that the importance placed on the online teachers' roles and competencies varies as it is context-dependent (i.e. education level and academic context). Nonetheless, the consensus is in designing high quality, interactive online learning experiences requiring systematic support or instruction (Archambault et al., 2016).

3.1 The program: certified digital professional suit

The impact of COVID-19 has resulted in extensive periods of remote teaching and learning in education institutions in Sarawak, Malaysia. For this reason, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus introduced a new short, practical training programme called “The Digital Educator Series” to elevate teacher's digital proficiency. The program, developed along the university's transformative digital journey, aims to ease participants into mobile ways of working with applications, cloud, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) using tools that are mostly free to use to mitigate the impact brought by the (COVID-19) pandemic. Continuous collection of different types of data collected from all stakeholder groups guided the course design. The Digital Educator Series aims to quickly equip educators with practical know-how in effective online teaching. A series of seven courses were developed and delivered online: (1) Online teaching and learning 1, (2) mastering Google Classroom, (3) cloud-based productivity tools, (4) online teaching and learning II, (5)working effectively away from office and netiquette, (6) cybersecurity in the digital workspace and (7) learning design workshops: E-activities. For example, the Microsoft Team's course demonstrates its ecosystems and trains the participants in using key MS Teams features to conduct classes online effectively. The learning outcomes of the course include: (1) creating MS Teams collaboration teams; (2) hosting, participating and presenting in MS teams; (3) being aware of security and privacy issues in MS teams and (4) engaging in digital collaboration tools.

3.2 Participants

A total of 136 primary and secondary teachers from all over Sarawak who participated in the online course were invited to participate in the study. The university had announced through its website and social media platforms that the digital educator program was being conducted, and we invited teachers to participate in the program. At the same time, the university directly invited a number of schools who had shown interest in or have made an enquiry of programmes such as these in the past. The breakdown of participants is as follows: (see Table 2).

3.3 Instrument

An online questionnaire was distributed upon the completion of each workshop to obtain participants' feedback. The survey was written in English, in short, simple sentences and consisted of items which were close-ended (15) and open-ended (2). Close-ended items were designed to gather general information about their perceptions of online teaching and learning. Items were thus constructed to gather insights on participants’ familiarity, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness with platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Google classrooms. The open-ended items were designed to gather information on areas of improvement for the courses and professional development needs of teachers for online teaching. The questionnaire was piloted to a group of primary and secondary school teachers (n = 5), and was approved by the management of the university, prior to being utilised. Participants were encouraged to respond to the questionnaire, but participation was strictly voluntary (see Table 3).

3.4 Data analysis

The SPSSv25 software was used to analysis the quantitative data from the close-ended items. Descriptive analysis was used to identify emerging and meaningful patterns (Loeb et al., 2017). A thematic analysis (Gavin, 2008) was employed to analyse responses from the open-ended items, in which the following steps were followed: (1) identification of codes from keywords; (2) tabulating the frequency of codes; (3) merging codes intothemes; (4) ranking codes by frequency within themes and (5) reviewing themes for overlapping codes.

4.1 Quantitative findings

4.2 Qualitative findings

Two main themes emerged from the qualitative data from the participants' feedback of the first three courses attended from The Digital Educator Series as areas of improvement and professional development needs of teachers: (1) pedagogical support and (2) technology support (See Table 4).

Overall, the consensus reported the benefits of the courses they attended in the Digital Educator Series. This is evident in the responses where participants reported gaining new knowledge: “I have a clearer mindset on setting Microsoft team for collaborative teaching and learning with the students”, and applicability for their own pedagogical practice “I can discuss projects with students and monitor their progress instead of just discussing one sided way through FB live”. Additionally, the teachers also reported positive impact on their motivation: “The class was very informative and useful for teachers who have yet to use Google Classroom…very motivating to use the so many useful features especially during this Movement Control Order (MCO) to enhance home-based learning and teaching”. Participants also reported increased self-efficacy, “As a teacher, being able to participate in this course gave us more confidence that online teaching will be of tremendous help in reaching out to our pupils with whom we have been tutoring face to face before Movement Control Order (MCO)”.

The participants reported that they require pedagogical support and training. Acknowledging they have very limited experience to none with either Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams, (i.e. “Most of us have never used Microsoft teams”), the teachers reported the need to have guidance for online courses, such as how to write objectives, how to facilitate online courses in line with learning outcome/objectives and setting up group work. Another area of pedagogical support was guidance on creating instructional resources, project-based and problem-based learning, as well as active learning techniques such as discussions. The teachers reported the need for a robust training programme and teaching strategies that are discipline-specific to teach online. One teacher wrote: “Could you please create more programmes such as this in another topic that could also benefit us as educators…introduce applicable tools for Mathematics”.

Since teaching online is still emergent in Sarawak, the teachers have expressed the need for more training and supplemental resources (i.e. “prepare short notes for future reference after the session” and “I would like to know more about the differences between MS team and other platforms such as WEBex and Zoom”). Additionally, the findings revealed the need for more course examples and additional instructions and/or guidance. This was expressed through wanting more hands-on experience during the course. A teacher wrote:“Although I am aware of the limitations of an online course, I was expecting a bit more hands-on session. More guides or step by step”.

Understandably, the teachers reported the need to have technical support for the different learning management systems (LMS) typically used for online courses and the different communications and collaboration platforms. One participant reported: “I was not familiar with Microsoft Teams, so a lot of time was wasted in trying to get where I am supposed to be. Maybe the teacher can provide instructions on how to go to breakout groups or for group discussions”. Some teachers wanted to learn how to integrate online apps for teaching and learning: “I would have liked training on more online apps for teaching and learning could be introduced or shared for online learning using Google Classroom”.Overall, our data highlighted two major needs for enhancing the teachers' digital literacy; technological support and pedagogical support. To that effect, we need to be realistic about setting expectations for this surge of teaching online for both teachers and students who have never experienced this before. Lessons on digital skills and literacy is only the first step.

5.1 Pedagogical and technological support

It has been argued that well-planned online learning experiences are meaningfully different from courses offered online in response to a crisis or disaster (Hodges et al., 2020). The findings of the study, however, have revealed that the teachers had limited knowledge about the pedagogy for online teaching and learning and collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom. This low digital literacy may lead to teachers who are not confident in using digital technologies and feel anxious about using them in the classroom as they feel that their own functional skills are not as developed as their students'(see Horvitz et al., 2015; Rhode et al., 2017; Vang et al., 2020). Note that Archambault et al. (2014) suggests that “online teachers need to have not only an excellent grasp of their given content area but also an appreciation of how technology and the online environment affect the content and the pedagogy of what they are attempting to teach” (p. 87).

Nonetheless, in the case that a teacher is less experienced and knows less than a student about how to operate a particular piece of technology, it does not necessarily mean that he/she is digitally illiterate. Hague and Payton (2010) maintain that teachers are still more equipped with the higher order critical thinking skills and the subject knowledge to apply to digital technologies. Therefore, scaffolding teachers' pedagogical needs (i.e. instructional design needs and technology skills) was necessary to pave a path for all to navigate online learning. The reality of the pandemic has shown how important digital technologies in education are and that online education represents an efficient alternative when present forms of education are not available (Barnová et al., 2020, p. 15).While maintaining quality learning for students, it is important to embrace an iterative process of design and instruction. That teachers reported many pedagogical needs, and support in the feedback indicates the importance placed by these teachers in designing and delivering effective courses. These are critical elements of online course design. For this reason, future training programs and relevant resources should be created to prepare the teachers for online teaching.

5.2 Teacher preparation and professional development

As indicated in the study, the teachers are strongly focused on professional development in order to improve their teaching. Various platforms and applications ranging from communication tools and learning management systems are utilised for online learning. Teachers must be trained with sufficient knowledge and skills for effective online teaching practices, particularly in a low technology context often faced by Sarawak teachers. The current context of education demands educators to have advanced literacy on information technology. In an increasingly pressurised environment, online professional development for in-service teachers is paramount. This is to ensure that their online teaching skills are further developed as they find their own online teaching voices (Avgerinou and Moros, 2020).

There is a need to invest in the teachers' professional development as well as to upskill their digital skill. Although the Digital Educator Series was relevant and the programs could continue in the remote learning environment, continuous and personalised professional development needs to be provided. This was evidenced particularly in the qualitative data where participants reported for technological and pedagogical training and/or support. As argued by Hartshorne in his study, “it is important to prepare teachers in decision-factors for determining whether to use synchronous or asynchronous approaches in remote teaching and learning” (Hartshorne et al., 2020, p. 143). It is also apparent that there is a need for teachers to be reflective, innovative and adaptive to changes. Because new learning modalities have become a reality during these unprecedented times, it has become important to advocate for platforms that can fit into the core technology environment in Sarawak. This can only be achieved through novel educational strategies and for teachers to adopt an innovative mindset.

Thus, in the case with the COVID-19 pandemic, what becomes apparent as we examine examples of educational planning in crises is that these situations require creative problem-solving. This transcends acquiring technological knowledge. Teachers have to generate various innovative solutions that meet the needs of learners. This encompasses thinking about delivery modes, methods and media that are most suited for the rapidly changing needs and limited resources, such as faculty support and training (Hodges et al., 2020).

There is a need to understand teachers' needs for professional development in online learning, so that programs can be better curated for effective online teaching. As argued by Rhode et al. (2017) a one-size fits-all approach to faculty development for online teaching often does not meet the needs of faculty that have different levels of experience, skills and self-efficacy. The focus of professional development for online teachers should be on their effectiveness as teachers. This can be supported by taking a more holistic approach to professional development instead of focussing narrowly only on technology skills or instructional design (Martin et al., 2019; Rhode et al., 2017).

5.3 Opportunity in crisis

Although the adoption of teaching and learning to online platforms is undoubtedly the best way to maintain continuity of learning for students, it has also unveiled glaring inequities. The abrupt transition to remote teaching and learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified concerns about the digital divide, particularly for students with inequities of accessing the technology. Thus, it is critical for educators to inform solutions to resolve equity, accessibility issues.

School closures worldwide could be an opportunity to set up infrastructure for the future. Echoing UNESCO:

Yes we need to act immediately, but we also need to be involved in the setting up the infrastructure, the training and the response for at least another school year…This is our opportunity to build and help all students in the future who are ill, who do not have the technology resources, who find themselves unable to come to class for whatever reason (Covid-19 Impact on Education, UNESCO, March 2020).

There is a need to embrace these changes as a long-term response that will develop and improve over the next few years. That response should include better infrastructure, policies for quality improvement, accessibility standards and strategic plans for continuous access in the future. Hartshorne et al. (2020) maintains that “ as we move beyond the survival phase of remote teaching and learning, it is critical now to transition to a thriving phase of remote teaching, learning and teacher education” (p. 138). This is because pedagogical integration of open educational resources allows for a digitally inclusive educational environment and “diminishes the negative effects of digital divide” (Tudor, 2020, p. 374). Overall, our research findings are in alignment with the literature on the challenges faced in transitioning to online teaching and professional development needs for teachers who have to pivot to remote teaching. Support for teachers in remote teaching and remote training pedagogy should be provided.

Like other research, this too has its limitations. The sample size in this study was restricted to those who attended the Digital Educator Series training. Hence the results of this study, whilst have been enriching, and to a certain extent are supported by the current literature, the accuracy of the description may be unique to this particular group of individuals within this particular setting. Additionally, the study only relied on self-reports from both the questionnaire and the semi-structured interviews. This study accepts that self-reports have shortcomings. Not all experiences of the courses would have been readily accessible through the teachers' conscious reflections. This makes it difficult to construct a complete picture of the experience, challenges and identify all salient factors within a particular workshop or training.